American University New Personnel Policies

December 18, 2019

Dear AU Colleagues,

We wish to share two new HR policies with you: the Background Screening Policy and the Out-of-State Staffing Policy. The Background Screening policy was approved in July 2018 but full implementation required system and procedure changes which will now be in place effective January 2, 2020.

The Background Screening Policy

The Background Screening Policy verifies a prospective hire's information for accuracy and truthfulness and promotes a safe learning and working environment. This policy applies to all external and internal job candidates who are hired into full or part-time faculty and staff positions that are posted on or after January 2, 2020. 

Background screenings will be initiated for all positions by Human Resources, which oversees the process and receives the results of the screening. It is important to note that an adverse result on a background screening does not automatically disqualify someone for a job. If there are adverse results, the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources (for staff) or the Deputy Provost and Dean of Faculty (for faculty) will work with the hiring office to make the ultimate hiring decision. Please refer to the policy for factors considered in the background screening.

The Out-of-State Staffing Policy

The Out-of-State Staffing Policy addresses the process to hire or retain personnel who provide staffing or teaching services from an Out-of-State location. This applies to all faculty, staff, and student employees. Out-of-State includes locations outside the District of Columbia, State of Maryland, and Commonwealth of Virginia (DMV).

American University decided to transition the employment of personnel who telework and reside outside the DMV to an Employer of Record - nextSource. This decision was made due to ongoing complexity and costs of complying with the legal obligations of retaining teleworking employees from jurisdictions outside the DMV. As a result of this transition, nextSource will become the employer for these workers who will continue to provide their services to the university through an employer of record services agreement between the university and nextSource.

If you have questions regarding the staff procedures, please contact Employee Relations at employeerelations@american.edu, or by calling 202-885-2607.

Sincerely,

Beth Muha